Conscience or Reality

By Gail Paparian

It seems like we’ve been bombarded with political announcements forever. We had the $80 or-so-million in pre-primary spending. Now we’re into the real deal as we head for the November 2 election. Could the state of California balance its impossible budget if all the well healed spenders contributed to the pot? I don’t know but a couple of hundred million here and a couple of hundred million there would be a start.
There are city council elections in Banning and Beaumont to think about (Note: the Banning chamber is holding its candidates forum on October 6th from 6-8 pm at the Banning city hall. Should you want to see the event “live”- plan to be there early as seating is limited. The good news is it will be replayed frequently on Channel 10 (and I assume the Verizon station.)
Today’s mail brought me my first of the campaign material. As a “decline to state” voter, my mailbox remains blissfully devoid of expensive campaign material. I did receive, however, a well-crafted piece  called “Voter Guide” in reference to Measure U which will appear on the November 2nd ballot.
Approved by the Board of Trustees of the Mt. San Jacinto Community College District, the ballot initiative is named “the San Gorgonio Pass Job Training and Educational Opportunities Bond of 2010 a/k/a Measure U . The bond will endeavor to raise $47 million to construct a local campus to be located south of I-10 on Sunset Avenue in Banning.
According to the flyer, “Voters within the Pass Area including Banning, Beaumont, Cabazon, Calimesa, Cherry Valley and surrounding areas,” will get to vote yea or nay on this issue. The approximate cost to property owners will be $24. per hundred thousand of assessed value (NOT market value). After reading the literature, I can only assume the measure has met all state criteria to be eligible for matching funds?
Here’s my conflict and of course I’m only speaking for myself. I have voted since I was legally able to (actually I went to the Registrar of Voters on my birthday back in New York).  When I became a property owner (non-property-owning voters CANNOT chime in), I have voted for every school bond that has come before me.)
The San Gorgonio Campus of Mt. San Jacinto College would be wonderful! Students would be educated closer to home; those in job transition could be retrained, higher paying jobs could be created for the Pass Area and those in affiliation with the college could choose to move here. All in all, a most positive opportunity. I cherish the idea of moving forward.
Still…. My conscience tells me to vote for Measure U but reality has crept into my life. I think I filed my last property tax bill in the 2009 box. I fear I didn’t want to be reminded of all the things I am charged for… memory says: my house property taxes, school district, San Gorgonio Hospital bonds (likely to be revisited), Pass Water Agency bills (VERY likely to go up and can be done WITHOUT a vote of the people), Banning’s water rates (while not on THIS tax bill, likely to go up as the electric rates already have). I know there are school taxes, landscape district and street lighting things and whatever else that causes me to appropriate several hundred dollars a month to cover my twice yearly tax bill. Because I have chosen to reside in Sun Lakes, there is another service of bills I pay on a monthly basis.
As I noted, I am conflicted. I know what I would like to see happen but I question my ability to foot the bill. While not there yet, even though I just received a 10% increase in my Medicare secondary  insurance and I do not know what other of my “stables” are about to become “unstable”- I am among many people treading the line of what else they  might have to cut out to meet the rising monthly bills.
Still again… communities with colleges within their boundaries benefit. There is the obvious… education for all; from young to older. Nurses, legal technicians, law enforcement are a few professions that come to mind who could be educated within the San Gorgonio Pass. Bringing higher paying jobs here only benefits the local jurisdictions through sales tax, having more people buy homes here and raising the standards to make our communities the best they can be.
The final still… Personally, I will weigh the evidence up until I mark my ballot. Whatever your choice; I entreat you to consider all of the options and then, please--- VOTE INFORMED.

What’s happening with Banning’s Water Rates?
The much anticipated water meeting at Sun Lakes on August 6th was relatively peaceful. I didn’t see any skinned knuckles or see anybody forcibly removed. I commend the Master Board, led by President George Moyer in keeping the meeting moving and trying to keep people on point. Two senior Banning staff members, Duane Burk (Public Works Director) and Kirby Warner (Interim Finance Director) were there to educate the public and field questions….
The numbers that were thrown around regarding the reasons given to raise the water and wastewater rates in the City of Banning would confound a rocket scientist! 30%, 70% and other numbers were thrown around. Lots of it seemed to be by interpretation and therein lies part of the problem.
No matter how distraught residents and businesses are regarding the pending rate increases, only one thing is for certain….. We have not figured out how to live without water. It’s just something we’ve got to have; and pay for it we will.
It doesn’t matter whether this city council, or their predecessors mucked up on their decisions, we are now in the middle of the mess. We have to have water but at what cost?
There are a great number of people in Sun Lakes, as well as throughout Banning and the rest of the country who are living on a thin margin on their “limited fixed incomes.” Raise it one more dollar and folks have to choose between taking their medication, eliminating their air conditioning, or having their water shut off. None of these choices are palatable; at least to me.
So what are our choices, particularly to Sun Lakes residents who will be dinged with a double whammy: 1) personal water/wastewater bills rising, 2) each person’s share of the $900,000 Homeowner’s Association bill.  The reality is those folks who get us behind the eight ball have got to step up to the plate and make the water rate increase….. Swallow-able.
Let’s BOMBARD the Banning City Council until they bite the bullet, stop passing things down the line for another council to deal with and come to a reasonable solution. Bob Botts and Debbie Franklin are up for re-election with a group of challengers. MAKE EVERYBODY ACCOUNTABLE.
If the council does not seem responsive and someone thinks they’ve got a lock on a council vote (“I’ve got 3 votes”), RECALL THE REST OF THEM AND START OVER!
I’ve recently learned that it takes considerably less signatures to petition for a recall then it does to get 50% +1 in a Prop. 218 challenge.
No matter what the folks on “the dark side” say, water conservation remains a good thing! What will bail us all out of our version of the City of Bell’s indiscretions are people waking up and fighting for what is right.
I believe it’s time for the those who set policy in the City of Banning to thing about bringing revenue into the city (through jobs and sales tax generation) than beating the over-taxed residents to death, or forcing them to go to a place that is more sustainable.
I encourage your comments. Together, we might just make a difference.

Politeness Matters
For any Sun Lakes residents who don’t already know, there will be a meeting in the main clubhouse on Thursday, August 5th at 6 pm. It would make sense for all those who are concerned about where our water bills could go (that’s our individual rates AND our share of what the HOA will have to fork out.) It is my understanding the Banning staff will speak and residents will get to respond.
It has been my experience when one is trying to curry favor, the results are more positive if one “asks” for something rather than bellows it throughout the main clubhouse.
For those of you with short memories, the reception offered former Banning city staffers during a public meeting about whether an auto mall would be located across the street resembled a lynching  … there was nothing friendly about it. The people who shouted accomplished nothing save being branded as rude and ignorant. FYI- the shouting did not kill the plan; the economy did.
Like many of my friends and colleagues in Sun Lakes, I too live on a “limited fixed income.” What that means is, if bills go up substantially, I am forced to eliminate something else.  I rue the day that I might have to decide between by medications and my utilities.
Please be informed and act accordingly.
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Thank you for caring about our future.

Here's the short version. I found myself sweltering in my office when the overhead fan stopped working. My knowledge of electricity is to learn where the on/off switch is and make certain it is that easy to operate.

With no degree in electrical engineering, I was able to determine that because the light worked, it was not the "light kit" that was malfunctioning. I checked with the local electrician and found, much to my dismay but not my surprise, ceiling fan motors were not repairable. "Go buy a new unit," ... which is what I did.

Through a friend's recommendation, I "hooked up with Ron the handyman." Get your minds out of places they shouldn't be going.... I engaged Ron to "hook up my fan."

As he went through the process of putting blades to motor (assembling it), he asked me where the remote was. "Hanging the the wall," I told him. We chatted back and forth and much to my chagrin, he informed me that my previous "universal remote" was no longer universal. I know when I asked him, "when had the universes changed"; he was out of my orbit.

Back to Home Depot where I sought out the person who had recommended the fan to me the day before. If I needed a remote, why hadn't she recommended it to me before I left the complex? It wasn't so much the cost; it was the total inconvenience of having to purchase a new "universal remote."

It is long overdue for us to return to a world where one can fix rather than replace. I wanted to purchase a new fan motor... not a new fan! It's what we're throwing away in the landfills that could be stopped. No secret.... we're running out of landfill disposal room.

As consumers, if we put enough pressure on manufacturers that we want our purchases to last and do not purchase everything that is destined to be disposal, we might take back our world!  OMG, as my grandson reminds me.... it's time!

I've been a 'good little recycler' since I hooked up with the good folks in Solana Beach in the early 1980s. I have long and dutifully carried my cloth bags to the supermarket. As punishment for forgetting to bring a bag into the store, I make myself purchase a new bag rather than use plastic. To that end, I have a trunk full of cloth bags in my vehicle.

Here's the thing.... I don't know what I'm going to do should plastic suffer an outright ban. I have two dogs... one who is capable of leaving enormous "deposits" on my lawn. Yes, my lawn... she prefers the privacy of her own backyard.   Still, I fill my pockets with plastic bags when we go for a walk, "just in case."

What are us poor and dedicated pet owners to do when plastic is gone? I think there needs to be an exemption for the socially conscious pet owner who is trying to do the right thing.... poop-wise.

How can we handle this looming crisis?

It may take a village for some but it took mega-billionaire and TV icon Oprah Winfrey to get behind No Phone Zone Pledge.   Some brilliant state and federal minds wrote legislation outlawing talking on a cell phone operating a potential murder weapon, a/k/a a vehicle.  Brilliant! What they neglected to do was outlaw TEXTING while driving……. DUH!